It usually happens that I have multiple different projects going on at once, and one can be referencing the other.

This is why people cry at the movies: because everybody’s doomed. No one in a movie can help themselves in any way. Their fate has already staked its claim on them from the moment they appear onscreen.

I grew up in Southern California, so the whole concept of a local music history is still kinda novel to me.

This is the funny thing about me. People think John just comes up with all the ideas. I'm honored. People think I have a big old brain, but actually I am the sum of the people I work with.

In the present political situation, it's an interesting phenomenon to look at: what is the appeal of an autocratic leader? Why do people want somebody who yells at them? For most of us, that's so hard to understand. Who wants that? I think there are a lot of people for whom that fulfills some kind of need.

There are real teachers out there; I don't pretend to have their mantle.

For me, moving is always a big opportunity. Its just a enough of a shift in outlook that every time I move, it seems to open something up.